I'm really lucky that I have one floor and I can always see the children from the kitchen while I prepare food. I have to run back and forth through 2 rooms all the time so I can't imagine if they were down some stairs, yikes! You must get lots of exercise!

Anyway, if I were you I would prep as much as humanly possible the night before and have it all done and I would make use of my crockpot or one dish meals that I could throw together the night before or leftovers that could be prepared very quickly. Just a few thoughts.